The National Trust has voted overwhelmingly to seek a new banking partner in a significant victory for members who have long argued that its relationship with Barclays was at odds with its commitment to protecting the natural world.

The resolution, passed at the charity’s annual general meeting on Saturday with the backing of its board of trustees, instructs the organisation to begin a competitive tendering process for its banking arrangements.

That process will, for the first time, centre on the condition that the new bank demonstrates a positive commitment to protecting biodiversity and reducing the human-induced climate crisis.

Campaigners said the result, 53,256 votes for and 4,094 against, sent a message that charities should apply the same environmental standards to their financial relationships as they do to their investments and suppliers.

Others questioned the significance of the success, with insiders suggesting that the tendering process will not take place for at least a year.

Despite…